Two people were killed in separate early morning crashes on the BQE and Van Wyck Parkway. A man driving a BMW had been speeding on the Van Wyck in Queens around 2:15 a.m.—he lost control of his car when he attempted to exit at Atlantic Ave., and ended up crashing into a tree in front of Jamaica Hospital. The car burst into flames, killing the driver. A witness told a nearby a Gourmet Deli cashier that "he saw him doing about 80 on the freeway as he was passing by him. He said he didn't even slow down when he came off the ramp, then he hit the tree.” more ›

Remember back in May, when a heated debate erupted over the correct pronunciation of the Van Wyck Expressway? Well, the fires have been further fueled today by the Gray Lady, who has a full rundown of tongue-twisting New York streets and their supposedly accurate pronunciations. more ›

An issue of grave importance is sweeping our fair city today, as a debate rages about the proper pronunciation of the dreaded Van Wyck Expressway. Is it Van WICK (as in "stick") or, as some Dutch linguistic purists insist, Van WIKE (as in "like")? more ›

Following up on yesterday's news about three motorcycle accidents in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens within two hours between late-Saturday and early-Sunday, it turns out the motorcyclist in the Van Wyck Expressway crash died. The Daily News reports, "At 12:48 a.m., [a] driver of a Suzuki bike fatally crashed, this time on the southbound Van Wyck Expressway near the Belt Parkway in Queens, police said. Cory Burrus, 36, of Jamaica, struck a guardrail and then hit another motorcycle driven by a 27-year-old man, according to cops. Burrus was pronounced dead at the scene. The other biker was in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital with arm and shoulder injuries." more ›

In the span of two hours, two people were injured and two dead in three motorcycle accidents in three boroughs. According to the Post, the first was at 11:10 p.m., "when a 35-year-old man smacked into a car on Ocean Parkway near Avenue Y"; he is now in stable condition. Around 12:30 a.m., two people on one motorcycle more ›

A two-alarm fire was ignited on the Van Wyck Expressway when a tanker crashed near North Conduit Avenue - and JFK Airport - around noon. The driver could not escape and died in the blaze. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an escaped patient on the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens, a homicide on Bruner and Burke Aves. in the Bronx, and shots fired on Bainbridge St. and Lewis Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Jurors in the Nixzmary Brown murder trial were sent home for the second consecutive day Thursday as the defense, prosecution, and judge met in secret to discuss potentially bombshell evidence that's yet to be revealed.
• The NYPD is searching for three police impersonators who knocked on the door of a Cypress Hills, Brooklyn home last night and then pushed their way in, tying up and robbing the 77-year-old and 39-year-old male and female occupants. The robbers were wearing police windbreakers, sunglasses, and dark hats, with at least two of them brandishing pistols.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a staircase collapse on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, an unusual escort on Van Wyck and Atlantic Aves. in Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 170th St. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx.
• 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64 PC. The computer, which attached the primary system with the monitor and the keyboard, had a whopping 64K of memory. 17 million were sold.
• A bootleg recorded by an audience member at Rutgers turns out to be the only surviving recording of a live Woodie Guthrie performance in existence.
• Manhattan doormen vs. Brooklyn doormen. Union vs. Non-Union. A comparative study.
• Reporting that one's breasts are humongous seems akward. We imagine Tom Brokaw announcing that he's hung like a horse would be less so.
• An improperly vented furnace and dryer nearly killed 19 people at a party in Newark, NJ, as carbon monoxide accumulated in a house.
• If you've ever been to a Betsey Johnson boutique, then how her apartment is decorated should come as no shock.
• Warning: Pop Burger burgers are bigger than they appear, according to Midtown Lunch.

A 17-year-old who was given a 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 as a starting-college gift was driving in Queens when the car hit a guard rail, "became airborne for 100 feet," and finally hit a concrete pillar. Two passengers, 18-year-olds Devindra Harilal and Christopher Karan, were killed. more ›

When it comes to driving routes for a JFK airport pickup, George Costanza advocates taking the Grand Central to the Van Wyck, deriding Kramer’s L.I.E. route as a “suicide mission.” In the current New York Magazine cover story, “How to Escape Airport Hell”, the editors invited chauffeur Kevin Sullivan to weigh in. While he comes down squarely on Costanza’s side, he also shares some invaluable alternative routes to all three airports in the unlikely... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at 186th St. and Amsterdam in Manhattan, a child was struck and killed by a car on 130th Ave. and Springfield Blvd. in Queens, and a pedestrian was struck by a Bobcat (motorized work vehicle) on Monroe St. and Catherine Slip in Manhattan.
• Ironic Sans examines the new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and finds specific references to it taking place in NYC, but a very unspecific skyline of unrecognizable buildings.
• A candid admission at the blog dailyheights.com and advice that is is a terrible idea and dangerous to wander off the subway late at night while completely intoxicated.
• Sprint has hired Samsung to install a fourth-generation level of wireless Internet known as Wi-Max in NYC by the end of 2008.
• Republican Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney is presenting NYC to the rest of the country as a paradigm of the ills of illegal immigration. Bloomberg News columnist Amity Shlaes contends that he is badly mistaken.
• A pair of NYC sanitation workers sprinted across three lanes of traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway after witnessing an accident last summer, and then kicked through a car's sunroof to pull a woman and an infant from the overturned vehicle, which was smoking and leaking gasoline.
• Gov. Spitzer's aide Darren Dopp will take some vacation time before returning to work, but his suspension has been lifted following his participation in a scandal to embarrass Majority Leader Joe Bruno with the help of State Police.
• Police are looking for a pair of men who pose as plumbers in Manhattan while burgling the apartments of elderly women.

- As an alternate route, customers are advised to take the Q43 bus to the Sutphin Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue bus stop and take the j train at the Supthin Boulevard Station. more ›

Maybe we've been watching to many forensic crime procedurals on tv lately, but wouldn't someone who fired a gun in an enclosed space like a car be covered in gunshot residue? Isn't that something that would be picked up by the bomb-sniffing equipment they have at airport security? more ›

If you've ever used Google Maps for driving directions, you might like the new feature they added. They've added real-time traffic information to the site. If you're actually navigating at street level though, the new feature isn't very useful. The traffic info only covers some highways and river crossings (it almost looks like only interstates and US highways). more ›

Revere Demo by F.Trainer. more ›

I broke my personal record for the single most lucrative fare I’ve ever taken in my five years a yellow cabbie. I drove a couple who’d been out on the town shopping all day to their place off Farmer’s Boulevard in Queens. We listened to the traffic report, and when they heard Matt Ward say that there was a jam on the Van Wyck, they told me to take the Belt. I warned them that it would be extremely expensive because it’s about twice the distance, but they assured me that cash wasn’t an issue. more ›

- And speaking of bad behavior by rich people: Eater hears a rumor about CSFB bankers bribing their way past the line at Shake Shack. Scandal! more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes essays about topics relevant to life in New York. The one below is by our favorite poet historian, Matt Levy-- master of the extended metaphor: more ›

The Transportation Bond Act, which will direct $2.9 billion of state money to various projects including MTA ones, passed yesterday by a slight/fair margin (depending on which paper you read), 55% to 45%. The proposition was on ballots statewide, and the bulk of the money will help NYC transportation projects: Half the money will go to the MTA, towards the Second Avene Subway and linking Grand Central to Penn Station for LIRR service, while other portions are earmarked to upgrade roads in the NYC area (the Van Wyck, the FDR, the West Shore Expressway). Some groups were opposed to the act, because it would mire the already-terrible NY State budget in even more debt, but that's just paying it forward, as in our grandkids will have to pay for our present transportation desires. MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said, "The voters want the best transit system in the world, and they are willing to do whatever needs to be done to make it happen. Now it's up to us complete the job." Mmm, odds are it takes the MTA 50% longer to finish anything, even with the money. So, East Side, get ready to rumble with construction! more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist asks our friends and neighbors for Op-Ed contributions-- essays about things related to life in New York City. For instance, below, local history expert Matt Levy schools you in some mayoral history: more ›

- MTA riders will have to shoulder less of the MTA's already crippling debt more ›

Matthew Rose, Wall Street Journal more ›